During the election campaign the Tories and their tabloid cheerleaders, especially the Daily Mail,Daily Express and The Sun, published a regular stream of stories attacking Labour's leading figures, particularly Jeremy Corbyn, John McDonnell and Diane Abbott, for their alleged past involvement with terrorist groups such as the IRA, and armed resistance groups such as the Palestinian Hamas or the PLO. One day after the election, and the Tory leader, Theresa May proposes going into an intimate political coalition with Democratic Unionist Party in Ulster, many of whose MPs and its party leader in the Northern Ireland Assembly have had very close relations with loyalist terror groups such as the Ulster Defence Force.
One day after the election, not one mainstream newspaper has reported this today. Only the Morning Star on its front page has done so. What does this say about our free press?Here is some published evidence of these terror links
DUP chief Arlene Foster met UDA boss days after loyalist murder in Bangor
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/general-election-2017/dup-chief-arlene-foster-met-uda-boss-days-after-loyalist-murder-in-bangor-35776873.html |
www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Arlene Foster has defended meeting a UDA chief within 48 hours of the loyalist feud murder in Bangor of Colin Horner in front of his three-year-old son.
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<img src="//cdn-04.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/article35776872.ece/218a8/AUTOCROP/w620h342/2017-06-01_new_31664703_I1.JPG" alt="Paramilitary: Jackie McDonald" title="Paramilitary: Jackie McDonald" width="620" height="342" /> 11Paramilitary: Jackie McDonald The DUP leader yesterday admitted meeting UDA boss Jackie McDonald in south Belfast. The Ulster Political Research Group, which provides political advice to the UDA, yesterday endorsed the DUP's Emma Little Pengelly for the South Belfast constituency.
Read More: DUP slams Sinn Fein claim it 'plays footsie with UDA'
Mr McDonald also urged loyalists to support the DUP in the recent Assembly election, and praised Mrs Foster, saying her "experience and dedication has helped bring about stability and prosperity".
Mrs Foster condemned the Horner murder, which has been linked to the UDA. She also said her party would continue to offer help to people seeking to move away from criminality - but that, almost 20 years after the Good Friday Agreement, all paramilitary groups should have disbanded.
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At yesterday's DUP manifesto launch Mrs Foster was asked if she had told that to Mr McDonald. "I had no need to say it to Jackie McDonald," she replied.
Unable to play media
"Jackie McDonald knows my views very, very clearly. If people want to move away from criminality, from terrorism, we will help them to do that, but anyone who is engaged in this sort of activity should stop, should desist, and if they don't they should be open to the full rigour of the law."
But Sinn Fein MLA John O'Dowd said: "It beggars belief that only two days after the UDA murdered Colin Horner in Bangor that Arlene Foster did not challenge a senior UDA leader to disband the armed loyalist gang.
"There is a responsibility on all in political leadership to challenge the very existence of paramilitary groups.
"However, 20 years on since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, political unionism has so far failed to step up to the plate in facing down violent loyalist extremism."
Belfast Telegraph
Group linked to UDA rents office to DUP politician Stalford
MLA Stalford tells of ‘pride’ at party’s constituency base
<img src="//cdn-02.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/incoming/article35335333.ece/5209d/AUTOCROP/w620h342/PEYE%201218120%207775.jpg" alt="First Minister Arlene Foster pictured at the opening of the offices of Christopher Stalford MLA in Sandy Row, south Belfast. She is pictured with Nigel Dodds, Christopher Stalford, Paul Givan and Maurice Morrow." title="First Minister Arlene Foster pictured at the opening of the offices of Christopher Stalford MLA in Sandy Row, south Belfast. She is pictured with Nigel Dodds, Christopher Stalford, Paul Givan and Maurice Morrow." width="620" height="342" /> 6262First Minister Arlene Foster pictured at the opening of the offices of Christopher Stalford MLA in Sandy Row, south Belfast. She is pictured with Nigel Dodds, Christopher Stalford, Paul Givan and Maurice Morrow. South Belfast MLA Christopher Stalford moved into the premises on Sandy Row, which are now owned by Belfast South Community Resources (BSCR), two weeks ago.
DUP leader and First Minister Arlene Foster attended the opening as did North Belfast MP and party deputy leader Nigel Dodds.
Mr Stalford spoke glowingly of his new base, saying: “I am proud that I recently opened my constituency office in Sandy Row.
“It is situated in a building that is part of the Social Investment Fund project. I revealed that in the Executive Office committee not so long ago, and it is not a mystery to anyone.”
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Yesterday, Mr Stalford said he had nothing to add to his comments at the official opening of his office.
Unable to play media
But what Mr Stalford made no mention of in his remarks is that BSCR is managed by convicted loyalist multiple killer Garnet Busby, and that ex-UDA prisoner Trevor Greer is among its staff.
The UDA’s south Belfast leader Jackie McDonald is a former development officer with the group, and the terror gang continues to use offices on the top floor of the building to hold ‘kangaroo courts’.
BSCR bought the premises at 127-145 Sandy Row from Ulster Unionist politician Chris McGimpsey earlier this year.
The purchase was funded by a £757,000 grant from the controversial Social Investment Fund (SIF) which has been branded a “paramilitary slush fund” by some politicians.
<img src="//cdn-03.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/incoming/article35300017.ece/3d3c2/AUTOCROP/w620/Arlene_foster018.jpg" alt="Arlene Foster pictured at the new DUP office in Sandy Row in Belfast Northern Ireland on 16th December 2016 ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph )" title="Arlene Foster pictured at the new DUP office in Sandy Row in Belfast Northern Ireland on 16th December 2016 ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph )" width="620" height="365" /> 6262Arlene Foster pictured at the new DUP office in Sandy Row in Belfast Northern Ireland on 16th December 2016 ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Referring specifically to BSCR Mr Stalford added: “I am proud of community groups such as BSCR which are committed to peaceful and democratic means, and which are determined to drive positive change.”
But the fact that public money is being used to pay rent to landlord BSCR, which has strong UDA ties, is causing concern.
A political source told us: “It’s bad enough that the £757,000 of SIF public money has been used by BSCR to buy the Sandy Row building. Now even more public money is going into BSCR’s pockets by renting an office there for an MLA.
“The UDA, which is a proscribed terrorist organisation, still use the premises and until that changes the DUP should steer clear.”
Last year Sandy Row woman Paula Dickson-Graham told of how she was summoned to 127-145 Sandy Row, known locally as the ‘McMichael Centre’, to meet UDA thugs. She told how a member of the terror gang falsely accused her ladies’ soccer star daughter Billie Simpson of assault.
Paula was ordered to go to the complex again the following day, and it was at this meeting she was told Billie was barred from entering Sandy Row.
She revealed: “The person told me ‘Paula, he (UDA commander) has changed his mind, Billie’s not welcome on Sandy Row because she had disrespected the UDA’.”
Loyalist sources say anyone who falls foul of the UDA is told to attend the BSCR-owned building to learn of their punishment.
Meanwhile, BSCR boss Busby has been busy setting up a new property development firm registered to BSCR’s offices on Sandy Row.
According to Companies House documents Boyne Enterprises Ltd will develop building projects, and let or operate either owned or leased real estate.
Busby is listed as one of four directors of the community interest company.
<img src="//cdn-03.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/incoming/article35335332.ece/86d3f/AUTOCROP/w620/Belfast%20today%20717.jpg" alt="First minister Arlene Foster pictured today at the opening of Christopher Stalford South Belfast Constituency Office on Sandy Row in Belfast." title="First minister Arlene Foster pictured today at the opening of Christopher Stalford South Belfast Constituency Office on Sandy Row in Belfast." width="620" height="414" /> 6262First minister Arlene Foster pictured today at the opening of Christopher Stalford South Belfast Constituency Office on Sandy Row in Belfast.
UDA-linked magazine urges support for DUP candidates 
<img src="http://www.irishnews.com/picturesarchive/irishnews/irishnews/2017/05/31/211509950-150d8750-1898-422d-92d5-1cfb309ce756.jpg" alt="UDA-linked magazine urges support for DUP candidates" title="UDA-linked magazine urges support for DUP candidates" class="img-responsive" /> The UDA-linked magazine The Loyalist has urged voters to support Nigel Dodds in next week's general election. Mr Dodds is pictured with DUP leader Arlene Foster at the party's manifesto launch in Antrim yesterday. Picture by Mal McCannhttp://www.irishnews.com/news/2017/06/01/news/uda-linked-magazine-urges-support-for-dup-candidates-1041820/
<img src="http://www.irishnews.com/picturesarchive/irishnews/irishnews/2017/05/31/211509950-150d8750-1898-422d-92d5-1cfb309ce756.jpg" alt="UDA-linked magazine urges support for DUP candidates" title="UDA-linked magazine urges support for DUP candidates" class="img-responsive" /> The UDA-linked magazine The Loyalist has urged voters to support Nigel Dodds in next week's general election. Mr Dodds is pictured with DUP leader Arlene Foster at the party's manifesto launch in Antrim yesterday. Picture by Mal McCannhttp://www.irishnews.com/news/2017/06/01/news/uda-linked-magazine-urges-support-for-dup-candidates-1041820/ |
www.irishnews.com
A UDA-linked magazine has called on loyalists to vote for the DUP's Emma Little-Pengelly and Nigel Dodds in next week's general election. Both candidates are standing ...
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01 June, 2017 01:00
A UDA-linked magazine has called on loyalists to vote for the DUP's Emma Little-Pengelly and Nigel Dodds in next week's general election.
Both candidates are standing in marginal constituencies in Belfast containing large working-class loyalist areas.
The Loyalist, a monthly publication with links to the Ulster Political Research Group, urged voters to "get behind the unionist that they feel will best represent them and make sure they get the full support of you and your family and friends" but added that "the UPRG in areas like Taughmonagh and Belvoir would strongly urge a vote for Emma Little-Pengelly".
It said the South Belfast candidate "is a qualified barrister, a former Spad (special adviser) in Stormont and an MLA who has worked at a senior level not just within her party but at government and has the ability to be a very dedicated MP".
The magazine also urged loyalists to back the DUP's Nigel Dodds in North Belfast, who is expected to face a strong challenge from Sinn Féin candidate John Finucane.
During the assembly election in March the magazine also backed DUP candidates.
Alliance MLA David Ford last night called on DUP leader Arlene Foster to clarify whether she accepts the endorsements.
“It is bad enough to have paramilitaries backing a political party at any time but it is especially troubling in this case, given it comes in the same week as a murder which is believed to be part of a UDA feud," he said.
"It is now 2017 – paramilitaries should not even exist, never mind be giving ringing endorsements of political candidates."
Sinn Féin's East Antrim candidate Oliver McMullan also accused the DUP of "ambivalence" over the UDA.
"There is no doubt that the UDA is a sectarian organisation, mired in criminality and drug dealing, extortion and murder," he said.
"But despite this the DUP appear content to cosy up to them, just as they have with the Tories."
The DUP, which has previously condemned the murder of Mr Horner and called for the disbandment of paramilitary groups, did not respond to a request for a comment last night.
Both candidates are standing in marginal constituencies in Belfast containing large working-class loyalist areas.
The Loyalist, a monthly publication with links to the Ulster Political Research Group, urged voters to "get behind the unionist that they feel will best represent them and make sure they get the full support of you and your family and friends" but added that "the UPRG in areas like Taughmonagh and Belvoir would strongly urge a vote for Emma Little-Pengelly".
It said the South Belfast candidate "is a qualified barrister, a former Spad (special adviser) in Stormont and an MLA who has worked at a senior level not just within her party but at government and has the ability to be a very dedicated MP".
The magazine also urged loyalists to back the DUP's Nigel Dodds in North Belfast, who is expected to face a strong challenge from Sinn Féin candidate John Finucane.
The UDA linked Loyalist magazine had endorsed DUP candidates Nigel Dodds and Emma Little Pengelly in next week's General Election
It claimed the selection of the solicitor, whose father Pat Finucane was murdered by the UDA, "ties in nicely with the Sinn Féin attempt to portray fresh-faced members with clean hands but at the same time strong family ties to republicanism".During the assembly election in March the magazine also backed DUP candidates.
Alliance MLA David Ford last night called on DUP leader Arlene Foster to clarify whether she accepts the endorsements.
“It is bad enough to have paramilitaries backing a political party at any time but it is especially troubling in this case, given it comes in the same week as a murder which is believed to be part of a UDA feud," he said.
"It is now 2017 – paramilitaries should not even exist, never mind be giving ringing endorsements of political candidates."
Sinn Féin's East Antrim candidate Oliver McMullan also accused the DUP of "ambivalence" over the UDA.
"There is no doubt that the UDA is a sectarian organisation, mired in criminality and drug dealing, extortion and murder," he said.
"But despite this the DUP appear content to cosy up to them, just as they have with the Tories."
The DUP, which has previously condemned the murder of Mr Horner and called for the disbandment of paramilitary groups, did not respond to a request for a comment last night.
DUP: We’ll still work with group linked to UDA The UPRG said on Monday that the UDA still existed and has no plans to dissolve 07:30 Wednesday 07 October 2015 window.onload = function () { $(".sharetool a").sharetool(); }; var requestParam = "$m.request.httpRequest.getParameter('articleId')"; var index = requestParam.indexOf("-"); var conversionEventParam = "ContentId(1.6996730)"; var pointIndex = conversionEventParam.indexOf("."); var articleID = conversionEventParam.substring(pointIndex + 1, conversionEventParam.length - 1); 10 Have your say The DUP would still work with a group closely linked to the UDA, despite a declaration that the paramilitary organisation has no intention of disbanding. A party spokesman said on Tuesday night that while it does not endorse the UPRG’s views, it will not “shy away” from working with such groups. UDA mural, south Belfast, 2007 (using the cover name of the UFF) The UPRG was founded over a decade ago as the political voice of the UDA, and has various branches around the Province. Its south Belfast district – where leadership figure Jackie McDonald is based – announced on Monday that the UDA still exists and has no plans to dissolve. The DUP is currently boycotting almost all activity at Stormont because of suspected ongoing PIRA activity.The party and other unionists had stood alongside UPRG figures during the “graduated response” to the north Belfast Twelfth of July parade in 2013. UDA mural, west Belfast Asked about this, and about whether it could work with the UPRG in the future, a DUP spokesman pointed out that they have been in government with Sinn Fein.“We know about their position, their involvement and the organisation they’re linked to,” he said. “It doesn’t mean we condone that.”Provided a group was “moving in a peaceful direction,” the party would not “shy away” from working with them, he told the News Letter.He said the graduated response had helped deliver a peaceful Twelfth in 2014, adding: “When it’s the right thing to do, whether it’s going into government with Sinn Fein, which many people found difficult, or working with groups from the loyalist community to deliver a peaceful outcome to a situation, we’ll do that, we’ll keep doing that.”He added that anyone breaking the law, republican or loyalist, should be prosecuted. Sinn Fein said unionists’ silence over the UDA had been “deafening”.It said: “This is the same UDA which murdered Brian McIlhagga earlier this year and which has continued its involvement in pipe bombings, intimidation, arson, drug dealing and extortion over the past number of years. “This is the same organisation, which nailed a man’s hands to a table in July.“This is the same UDA whose political wing unionism stood shoulder to shoulder with in an effort to force an Orange march through a nationalist community.” The UUP, which also took part in the graduated response along with the UPRG, also defended it as helping to ensure a peaceful summer. A statement said: “The difference between the Ulster Unionist Party and Sinn Féin on this issue is that we are not in denial about the existence of any paramilitary organisation.“When we withdrew from the NI Executive, we explicitly called on the UDA, UVF and the rest to go away, taking their paramilitary flags off our lampposts.“For the UDA, or any other such grouping, to claim they exist to protect their community is outrageous in 2015, when it is clear members of all these groups are involved in community control and oppression and organised criminality.”Jim Allister of the TUV said: “I don’t think there’s a place for or a need for any paramilitary organisation, and I think the message to them all is the same.”He was asked about the fact the TUV had also shared a platform with the UPRG in the “graduated response”.He said: “I’ve stood shoulder to shoulder with a cause. The graduated response was supposed to be about righting the wrongs in terms of the denial of basic human rights in Twaddell.“It’s that cause that I was very much prepared to associate myself with. I’m not associating myself with others of whatever ilk.”
Read more at: http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/dup-we-ll-still-work-with-group-linked-to-uda-1-6996730
Read more at: http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/dup-we-ll-still-work-with-group-linked-to-uda-1-6996730
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The DUP would still work with a group closely linked to the UDA, despite a declaration that the paramilitary organisation has no intention of disbanding.
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http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/dup-we-ll-still-work-with-group-linked-to-uda-1-6996730
www.newsletter.co.uk
The DUP would still work with a group closely linked to the UDA, despite a declaration that the paramilitary organisation has no intention of disbanding.
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DUP: We’ll still work with group linked to UDA The UPRG said on Monday that the UDA still existed and has no plans to dissolve 07:30 Wednesday 07 October 2015
Read more at: http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/dup-we-ll-still-work-with-group-linked-to-uda-1-6996730
Read more at: http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/dup-we-ll-still-work-with-group-linked-to-uda-1-6996730
The DUP would still work with a group closely linked to the UDA, despite a declaration that the paramilitary organisation has no intention of disbanding. A party spokesman said on Tuesday night that while it does not endorse the UPRG’s views, it will not “shy away” from working with such groups. UDA mural, south Belfast, 2007 (using the cover name of the UFF) The UPRG was founded over a decade ago as the political voice of the UDA, and has various branches around the Province. Its south Belfast district – where leadership figure Jackie McDonald is based – announced on Monday that the UDA still exists and has no plans to dissolve. The DUP is currently boycotting almost all activity at Stormont because of suspected ongoing PIRA activity.The party and other unionists had stood alongside UPRG figures during the “graduated response” to the north Belfast Twelfth of July parade in 2013. UDA mural, west Belfast Asked about this, and about whether it could work with the UPRG in the future, a DUP spokesman pointed out that they have been in government with Sinn Fein.“We know about their position, their involvement and the organisation they’re linked to,” he said. “It doesn’t mean we condone that.”Provided a group was “moving in a peaceful direction,” the party would not “shy away” from working with them, he told the News Letter.He said the graduated response had helped deliver a peaceful Twelfth in 2014, adding: “When it’s the right thing to do, whether it’s going into government with Sinn Fein, which many people found difficult, or working with groups from the loyalist community to deliver a peaceful outcome to a situation, we’ll do that, we’ll keep doing that.”He added that anyone breaking the law, republican or loyalist, should be prosecuted. Sinn Fein said unionists’ silence over the UDA had been “deafening”.It said: “This is the same UDA which murdered Brian McIlhagga earlier this year and which has continued its involvement in pipe bombings, intimidation, arson, drug dealing and extortion over the past number of years. “This is the same organisation, which nailed a man’s hands to a table in July.“This is the same UDA whose political wing unionism stood shoulder to shoulder with in an effort to force an Orange march through a nationalist community.” The UUP, which also took part in the graduated response along with the UPRG, also defended it as helping to ensure a peaceful summer. A statement said: “The difference between the Ulster Unionist Party and Sinn Féin on this issue is that we are not in denial about the existence of any paramilitary organisation.“When we withdrew from the NI Executive, we explicitly called on the UDA, UVF and the rest to go away, taking their paramilitary flags off our lampposts.“For the UDA, or any other such grouping, to claim they exist to protect their community is outrageous in 2015, when it is clear members of all these groups are involved in community control and oppression and organised criminality.”Jim Allister of the TUV said: “I don’t think there’s a place for or a need for any paramilitary organisation, and I think the message to them all is the same.”He was asked about the fact the TUV had also shared a platform with the UPRG in the “graduated response”.He said: “I’ve stood shoulder to shoulder with a cause. The graduated response was supposed to be about righting the wrongs in terms of the denial of basic human rights in Twaddell.“It’s that cause that I was very much prepared to associate myself with. I’m not associating myself with others of whatever ilk.”
Read more at: http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/dup-we-ll-still-work-with-group-linked-to-uda-1-6996730
Read more at: http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/dup-we-ll-still-work-with-group-linked-to-uda-1-6996730
See this too on DUP UDA paramilitary links
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulster_Resistance
Ulster Resistance (UR), or the Ulster Resistance Movement (URM),[1][2][3] is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary movement established by unionists in Northern Ireland on 10 November 1986 in opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement.[4]
Contents
[hide]Origins[edit]
The group was launched at a three thousand-strong invitation-only meeting at the Ulster Hall. The rally was chaired by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) Press Officer Sammy Wilson and addressed by party colleagues Ian Paisley, Peter Robinson and Ivan Foster. Also on the platform was Alan Wright, the chairman of the Ulster Clubs. The launch rally was followed by a number of similar assemblies across Northern Ireland.At a rally in Enniskillen, Peter Robinson announced; "'Thousands have already joined the movement and the task of shaping them into an effective force is continuing. The Resistance has indicated that drilling and training has already started. The officers of the nine divisions have taken up their duties'.[5]
At a rally in the Ulster Hall, Paisley spoke of a need for an extra-governmental Third Force to fight against the aims of Irish republicanism. He was then filmed dramatically placing a red beret on his head and standing to attention.
DUP deputy leader Peter Robinson was also photographed wearing the militant loyalist paramilitary regalia of beret and military fatigues at an Ulster Resistance rally.[6]
A mass membership failed to materialise, but active groups were established in country areas such as County Armagh, attracting support from rural conservative Ulster Protestants.
Arms[edit]
The group collaborated with the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), Red Hand Commando (RHC) and the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) to procure arms. In June 1987 the UVF stole more than £300,000 from the Northern Bank in Portadown. The money was used to buy 206 Vz. 58 assault rifles, 94 Browning 9mm pistols, 4 RPG-7 rocket launchers and 62 warheads, 450 RGD-5 grenades and 30,000 rounds of ammunition which arrived at Belfast docks from Lebanon in December 1987.[7] The weapons were then transported to a farm between Armagh and Portadown, to await collection by the three groups.[8]On 8 January 1988, as they attempted to transport their share of the weapons from Portadown to Belfast in a convoy of three cars, the UDA's share was intercepted at a Royal Ulster Constabulary checkpoint. 61 assault rifles, 30 Brownings, 150 grenades and over 11,000 rounds of ammunition were seized and three UDA men arrested. Davy Payne, the UDA's North Belfast Brigadier was sentenced to 19 years in prison and the two others to 14 years each.[9] Noel Little, a UR member and former Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) soldier who was also the Armagh chairman of the Ulster Clubs, was arrested in connection with the find under the Prevention of Terrorism Act but released without charge.
Part of the UVF's share was among weapons recovered in February 1988. A RPG7 rocket launcher with 26 warheads, 38 assault rifles, 15 Brownings, 100 grenades and 40,000 rounds of ammunition were found following searches in the Upper Crumlin Road area of North Belfast.[10]
In November 1988, part of the Ulster Resistance share of the weapons was uncovered in police searches at a number of locations in County Armagh around Markethill, Hamiltonsbawn and in Armagh town. Among the items recovered was a RPG7 rocket launcher and 5 warheads, 3 assault rifles, a Browning pistol, 10 grenades, 12,000 rounds of ammunition and combat equipment.[11] Also discovered in the arms caches were parts of a Javelin surface-to-air missile and a number of Ulster Resistance red berets.[12]
In September 1989, a 33-year-old man from Poyntzpass and a 35-year-old man from Tandragee were jailed to nine and six years respectively for storing and moving weapons and explosives on behalf of UR.[13] In January 1990, a 32-year-old former member of the UDR from Richill was jailed for 12 years for possessing UR arms and explosives. In 2013, the group was reported to have acquired more modern weapons along with stocks that were already acquired.[14]
The DUP subsequently claimed that they severed their links with the group in 1987.
Missiles
The South African contacts who had helped set up the 1987 arms deal[15] were also interested in trading guns for something other than money: missile technology. In October 1988, a model of the Javelin missile aiming system was stolen from the Short Brothers factory in Belfast, which had a mostly unionist workforce.A few months later, parts of a Blowpipe missile went missing and another Blowpipe was stolen from a Territorial Army base in Newtownards in April 1989.
Arrests in Paris
Three members of the group, Noel Little, previously arrested in connection with the 1987 importation of arms, James King, a Free Presbyterian from Killyleagh, County Down and Samuel Quinn, a sergeant in the Territorial Army from Newtownards, were arrested at the Hilton Hotel, Paris on 21 April 1989. Also arrested were a diplomat from South Africa, Daniel Storm, and an American arms dealer, Douglas Bernhart, leading to claims that the unionists were attempting to procure arms in return for missile technology from Short Brothers. The "Paris Three" were charged with arms trafficking and associating with criminals involved in terrorist activities. They were convicted in October 1991 after more than two years on remand. They received suspended sentences and fines ranging from £2,000 to £5,000.Aftermath
The Sutton Index of Deaths[16] claims that two men killed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) in October 1989 were members of Ulster Resistance. Thomas Gibson, a 27-year-old labourer and part-time ambulance driver with the Territorial Army was shot dead in Kilrea, County Londonderry. Robert Metcalfe, the 40-year-old owner of an army surplus store in Lurgan was shot dead at his home in Magheralin, County Down. The families of both men denied that they had any connection with loyalist groups.[
After the Paris revelations the group largely faded into the shadows, where they remain today. A small group broke away, naming themselves Resistance. It is believed to have joined the Combined Loyalist Military Command, although it has long since faded.
In a front page article on 10 June 2007, the Sunday Life reported that Ulster Resistance were still active and armed. A statement released by the group claimed that it had "the capability and resources to strike with deadly force". A photo accompanying the article showed two masked men posing with automatic rifles beside a banner which read "Ulster Resistance C Division". It is reported that the organisation has continued to restructure and evolve since then, and that there are at least seven divisions/brigades in Northern Ireland at present, with another "support" brigade in Britain.[17]
Notes[edit]
- Jump up ^ "Local Elections Take Pulse of Northern Ireland". Associated Press. 15 May 1989.
- Jump up ^ "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 5 Dec 1988". Retrieved 30 January 2015.
- Jump up ^ Weitzer, Ronald John. Transforming Settler States. University of California Press, 1990. p.256
- Jump up ^ "CAIN: Abstracts of Organisations - 'U'". Retrieved 30 January 2015.
- Jump up ^ Religion and Violence: The Case of Paisley and Ulster Evangelicals
- Jump up ^ "BBC NEWS - UK - Northern Ireland - Cooler style of patient Robinson". Retrieved 30 January 2015.
- Jump up ^ Sean Boyne, Gunrunners – The Covert Arms Trail to Ireland, Dublin, O'Brien, 2006. pg.368
- Jump up ^ Henry McDonald & Jim Cusack, UDA – Inside the heart of loyalist terror, Ireland, Penguin, 2004. pg.157
- Jump up ^ Sean Boyne, Gunrunners, The covert arms trail to Ireland, Dublin, O'Brien, 2006. pg.369
- Jump up ^ Irish Times 6 February 1988 "Arms find linked to three-way Loyalist purchase"
- Jump up ^ Irish Times 17 November 1988 "Ten questioned after part of huge arms shipment is found"
- Jump up ^ Ed Moloney, Paisley, From demagogue to democrat, Dublin, Poolbeg, 2008. pg.316
- Jump up ^ Irish Times 23 September 1989 "Two jailed in loyalist arms case"
- Jump up ^ Irish Times 20 January 1990 "Man on arms charges jailed"
- Jump up ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1989/08/28/international-arms-merchants-stock-both-sides-in-n-ireland/6a8e61de-2eee-463e-b416-810936eba8dd/
- Jump up ^ "CAIN: Sutton Index of Deaths". Retrieved 30 January 2015.
- Jump up ^ Sunday Life 10 June 2007 Ulster Resistance: Renegade loyalists issue terror threat
References[edit]
- Paul Arthur & Keith Jeffrey, Northern Ireland Since 1968, Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1996
- Jonathan Bardon, A History of Ulster, Belfast: Blackstaff Press, 1992
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunday-life/news/a-spectre-from-the-past-back-to-haunt-peace-28401321.html
A spectre from the past back to haunt peace
Ulster resistance re-emerges issuing sinister threats
<img src="//cdn-03.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/migration_catalog/article25624474.ece/9afea/AUTOCROP/w620h342/10junSL" alt="" width="620" height="342" /> 11 The shadowy loyalist group - which secured a huge arms cache in 1987 - has re-emerged like a ghost from Ulster's grim past, claiming to have "the capability and resources to strike with deadly force".
A statement purporting to come from Ulster Resistance also warns it is ready to hit back against what it describes as the "intimidation of Protestants, especially in border areas".
And the statement attacks DUP leader Ian Paisley, who encouraged the original Ulster Resistance in 1986 but who disowned it when it became linked to illegal arms and terrorism.
A Sunday Life reporter last week met with a man claiming to represent Ulster Resistance and who issued the statement on behalf of the group.
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A digital camera was taken from the reporter at the meeting at a location near Portadown and was returned to him around two hours later with images of two hooded men brandishing what appear to be automatic assault rifles and a 9mm pistol.
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The men are posing beside a purple banner proclaiming 'Ulster Resistance C Division'.
The spokesman said the outfit's arsenal included RPG-7 rocket launchers but insisted the organisation was not making "a statement of threat".
On the other hand, the statement warns that its ability to strike is not an " idle threat".
The statement begins by saying that following recent political developments " the Ulster Resistance feel it is time for them to speak out to try and reassure the Protestant community, who have been betrayed and let down by a number of our politicians".
It continues: "Ian Paisley has let a lot of people down and some were surprised by this, but the Ulster Resistance have known for years that Paisley would always bow under pressure. This is not a statement of threat and intimidation to anybody, but rather one to give people a reality check."
Claiming that Ulster Resistance was formed to "defend Ulster and its people against their enemies", it goes on to say "over the years the Ulster Resistance has worked closely with a number of individuals, both politically and militarily, so it would be wise to take this as no idle threat".
It states that members of loyalist paramilitary groups have approached Ulster Resistance to express discontent with the leadership of their organisations, and it contains a personal attack on current UDA leader Jackie McDonald.
"Many of those same people have pledged their support to our organisation, if and when it is needed."
On decommissioning, it claims that most UDA and UVF weaponry is " controlled by British Intelligence" through "high ranking informers " but says Ulster Resistance has been building for the last 20 years " towards the situation we find ourselves in today".
"The reason we make this statement today is to let Protestants know that they are not defenceless, regardless of what paramilitaties do."
It later adds: "We are warning the Government and Republican movement that the intimidation of Protestants, especially in border areas, must stop! There will be no more statements from us, but as in the past we will be judged by our actions. Furthermore, there are a number of people under death threats from republicans and state-backed forces. If anyone is seriously hurt or killed, the response will be tenfold."
The Irish Government is warned not to "attempt to create a United Ireland through the undermining of Ulster affairs..."
It adds: "This statement is not designed to threaten people, especially the Catholic community. However, the British goverment know that should we be needed, we have the capability and resources to strike with deadly force, because they know that our weaponry is not under their control."
It claims the "security forces know that we are probably the best armed organisation in the Protestant community".
"We all want peace and that is why we have given the peace process a chance thus far, but we feel our culture, heritage and freedom are at risk."
But claiming the Protestant community is being "backed into a corner" , it concludes by saying not everyone has been "bought, conned or infiltrated".
Platform politics to paramilitarism... how Pandora's Box opened
THE original Ulster Resistance movement emerged as a red beret-wearing, mass paramilitary-style force at an Ulster Hall rally in November 1986.DUP leader Ian Paisley and his deputy Peter Robinson sat on the platform and donned berets at the launch of the group which aimed to smash the Anglo-Irish Agreement.
And they gave Ulster Resistance their backing at a series of other rallies held in towns across Northern Ireland in the following weeks including Newtownards, Coleraine, Portadown and Kilkeel.
Peter Robinson told one rally: "The Resistance has indicated that drilling and training has already started. The officers of the nine divisions have taken up their duties."
But Ulster Resistance never developed into the disciplined movement with a presence on "every street, every estate, every hamlet and village" that the DUP leaders had envisaged.
And the DUP severed its association with the organisation in 1987 when members were linked to arms finds.
In December 1987, a massive shipment of weapons was smuggled into Belfast docks, taken to a house near Portadown and split three ways between Ulster Resistance, the UDA and UVF.
Loyalists had paid for the seized ex-PLO weapons - which included 200 AK47 rifles, hundreds of grenades and 90 Browning 9mm pistols - through a joint UVF/UDA bank robbery in mid-Ulster that netted £300,000.
The UDA's share was seized in almost comic circumstances weeks later when an RUC patrol stopped two cars outside Portadown so laden with arms that the suspensions looked set to collapse. UDA boss Davey Payne was among those arrested.
Around half of the UVF's share of the arms was also seized by cops within weeks.
And part of Ulster Resistance's share was uncovered near Markethill in November 1988 along with stolen missile parts and Ulster Resistance berets.
The following year Ulster Resistance was linked to a bid to procure South African arms in return for stolen missile technology from Short Bros.
Three members of the group - Noel Little from Armagh, James King from Killyleagh and Samuel Quinn, a sergeant in the Newtownards TA, were arrested in Paris along with a diplomat from South Africa and an American arms dealer.
After two years on remand the 'Paris Three' were eventually convicted of receiving stolen missile parts and received fines and suspended sentences.
The group faded away following the sensational Paris revelations.
Many believed the name had become little more than a cover for the mid-Ulster UVF, which was later to spawn the breakaway LVF founded by loyalist mass murderer Billy Wright.
But the Irish News reported in 1996 that security forces suspected that Ulster Resistance "continued to act as a quartermaster" by organising an "arms pool" for loyalists.
The name briefly re-surfaced again when grenades found in a rundown Gospel hall in north Belfast were linked to an Ulster Resistance shipment from South Africa.
The raid followed sectarian attacks by a group calling itself the Red Hand Defenders, a name linked to Bible-bashing Protestant extremists and also used as cover for murderous attacks by UDA and LVF members.
The re-emergence of the Ulster Resistance name this weekend in photographs and a statement supplied to Sunday Life is likely to lead to speculation that it is merely a cover name for other paramilitaries, either dissidents or disaffected members of mainstream groups.
It is likely, too, that there will be claims the choice of name is designed to embarrass First Minister Ian Paisley and Finance Minister Peter Robinson, both so closely linked to the creation of the original Ulster Resistance.
The spokesman purporting to represent Ulster Resistance claimed the group had members in Armagh, Fermanagh, south Londonderry and Tyrone and claimed there was "a presence" in Belfast.
The reporter who met the spokesman - and who has long experience of dealing with paramilitaries in mid-Ulster - said his gut feeling was that this group has connections to the original Ulster Resistance and he does not think it is merely a cover name.
www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk
THESE hooded men brandishing rifles claim they are members of Ulster Resistance - and boast the terror gang hasn't gone away.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1989/08/28/international-arms-merchants-stock-both-sides-in-n-ireland/6a8e61de-2eee-463e-b416-810936eba8dd/?utm_term=.6979eb4078b7
INTERNATIONAL ARMS MERCHANTS STOCK BOTH SIDES IN N. IRELAND
Washington Post,
BELFAST -- The shipment was purported to contain Lebanese bathroom tiles. But under a thin layer of tiles, was a different and deadly cargo: 200 Czechoslovak-made Kalashnikov rifles, 90 Browning pistols, more than 30,000 rounds of ammunition, 450 fragmentation grenades and 10 RPG-7 rocket launchers with dozens of rockets. Such shipments to Northern Ireland usually are destined for the professional gunmen of the outlawed Irish Republican Army. But, as investigators have said, this load in January 1988 was earmarked instead for three of the Protestant paramilitary organizations that are the IRA's sworn foes. And the ultimate supplier was not Christian militiamen in Beirut looking to peddle some of their surplus arms, as a cover story had it, but Armscor, South Africa's state-run weapons manufacturer. For years, the IRA has been supplied with weapons from sources in the United States, Europe and Libya. Now, British and Irish security sources say, underground Protestant groups also have entered the international arms bazaar. Thus, despite a dramatic increase in the amount of arms seized by British and Irish police, both Catholic and Protestant paramilitary groups are better armed than ever before. "It's safe to say they've got sufficient automatic weapons to keep them going until well into the 1990s," said a senior security official. Some of the weapons sold to the loyalist Protestant groups have already appeared on the streets of Belfast. Michael Stone, the loyalist gunman who single-handedly attacked an IRA funeral in West Belfast in March 1988, killed three mourners and wounded dozens more with a South African-supplied pistol and several grenades. Loyalist gunmen burst into a Belfast bar later in the year and sprayed the room with automatic rifle fire, killing three Catholics with Kalashnikovs from the shipment. And there have been two RPG-7 attacks in recent months on offices of Sinn Fein, the legal political party that supports the IRA. No outsiders knew where these weapons had come from until French police disguised as hotel porters and waiters swooped down on five men in a room at the Paris Hilton four months ago. There they found a South African diplomat, an American arms merchant, three representatives of Ulster Resistance, which is one of the underground Protestant groups, and a demonstration model of a British-made missile system. The diplomat and two colleagues were expelled, the American was released on bail and the loyalists remain in jail facing charges of arms smuggling and conspiracy to engage in terrorism. But from the trickle of information that has emerged, British and Irish security officials have pieced together much of the story of the South African connection. This account is based on information from those sources, who insisted on anonymity, and from sources inside the paramilitary organizations. The Protestants' search for foreign weapons was initiated by Ulster Resistance, set up in 1986 in the aftermath of an Anglo-Irish accord that gave the Irish government in Dublin a consultative voice in the North on behalf of the province's Catholic minority. Ulster Protestants opposed the accord. The key figure in the weapons quest was said to be Noel Little, a clerical worker at a local school board in Northern Ireland and a political supporter of the Rev. Ian Paisley, the right-wing loyalist leader. According to these sources, Little traveled to Europe several times in 1987 and 1988 and eventually made contact with Armscor through American arms dealer Douglas Bernhardt, who served as middle man for the deal. Although Paisley was an early and enthusiastic sponsor of Ulster Resistance, he has since claimed to have cut all ties with it and denies any knowledge of its arms dealings. Ulster Resistance, the sources say, joined forces with the Ulster Defense Association and Ulster Volunteer Force to obtain arms. They had cash -- about $500,000 taken from a bank robbery in the town of Portadown in July 1987. They reportedly used about half that sum to pay Armscor for last year's shipment. To cover its own tracks, Armscor reportedly arranged through agents for the arms to be sent from Christian militia groups in Lebanon. Armscor's agents, by this account, were after something far more elusive and valuable than money: design plans and working parts for the sophisticated ground-to-air missiles, code-named Javelin and Starstreak, being manufactured or under development at Short Brothers, the Belfast arms maker. They allegedly offered Little and his group several million dollars if he could deliver. Ulster Resistance apparently tried to oblige. Last November, a simulator aiming device for a Javelin missile was stolen from Short Brothers. In April, someone took a cutaway model of an older Blowpipe missile from a Northern Ireland base of the Territorial Army, Britain's equivalent of the National Guard. That cutaway model is said to have made its way to the Paris Hilton along with Little and two accomplices, James King and Samuel Quinn, a Territorial Army sergeant major who instructs troops in the use of Blowpipe and Javelin missiles. The Blowpipe is considered an outmoded missile system and a cutaway model with no working parts is unlikely to have impressed Armscor. Some sources suggest Little was seeking either to trick the South Africans or to demonstrate he could deliver the real goods later on. Others say he was set up by British or French intelligence, and still others that officials may be withholding information about just what Little had brought for exchange. In any case, it turned out that French police had kept Storm and Bernhardt under surveillance for months. When the net dropped, Storm claimed diplomatic immunity and was released and expelled. Soon after, Britain also expelled three South African diplomats from London. South Africa, embarrassed by allegations that it had supplied weapons to loyalist "terrorists," expressed its public regrets. Then-president Pieter W. Botha reportedly sent a personal letter of apology to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Defense Minister Magnus Malan denied that his government was "directly involved in the sale or delivery of South African weapons" but added that "Armscor, above all, is interested in satisfying South Africa's requirements," leaving open the possibility of foreign sales. The government of Israel denied allegations by a Northern Ireland member of Parliament that it had cooperated with Armscor in procuring the weapons for the loyalists. Guns are a thriving black-market business in Northern Ireland. Last year, security forces boasted a record number of arms seizures, including 59 machine guns, 215 rifles, 153 handguns, 15 rocket launchers, 105,049 rounds of ammunition and 20,858 pounds of explosives. Still, sources estimate that these numbers amount to no more than 5 percent of the total weapons and explosives available to the two sides. The IRA's sources of weapons are well known. When French customs agents seized the boat called Eksund in October 1987, they found 150 tons of sophisticated arms, including more than 20 SAM-7 surface-to-air missiles, two cases of RPG-7 rocket launchers, 1,000 Kalashnikovs and two tons of Semtex, the odorless, state-of-the-art plastic explosive from Czechoslovakia, all of it supplied by Libya. Security sources say an equal quantity of weaponry made its way to the IRA in four prior shipments. IRA operatives shot down a Lynx military helicopter last year, using a heavy machine gun that likely came from one of those shipments. Despite denials by foreign governments of involvement in weapons sales, and despite major seizures of weapons, the violence and flow of guns in Northern Ireland continues. Last year, 39 British soldiers and policemen were killed -- the highest number since the early 1980s. And the IRA alone is estimated to have stashed from one to four tons of Semtex, enough to blow up the entire city of Belfast. Late last month, IRA operatives exploded a truck filled with 1,000 pounds of homemade explosives alongside Belfast's well-guarded courthouse. No one was killed, but the explosion demonstrated yet again the IRA's ability to strike and the large variety of weapons it has to choose from.
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en.wikipedia.org
Ulster Resistance (UR), or the Ulster Resistance Movement (URM), is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary movement established by unionists in Northern Ireland on 10 ...
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